This article is about the sports award. For other uses, please see Rookie of the Year (disambiguation)

Rookie of the Year

The Rookie of the Year award is given by a number of sports leagues, mainly in North America, to the top first-time professional athlete of a season. -Principal sports making award:...

.

The Rookie of the Year award is given by a number of sports leagues, mainly in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, to the top first-time professional athlete (rookie

Rookie

Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...

) of a season.

Principal sports making award

The honor is awarded annually to the top rookie performers in:

• Major League Baseball
• National Football League
  National Football League
  The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
  
  
• National Basketball Association
  NBA Rookie of the Year Award
  The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association award given since the 1952–53 NBA season, to the top rookie of the regular season. The winner receives the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy, which is named in honor of the Philadelphia Warriors head...
  
  
• National Hockey League
  Calder Memorial Trophy
  The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League." The Rookie of the Year trophy has been awarded 79 times since its creation for the 1936–37 NHL season...
  
  
• Indianapolis 500
• NASCAR
  NASCAR
  The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
  
  
• Major League Soccer
  MLS Rookie of the Year Award
  In the United States, Major League Soccer has handed out a Rookie of the Year Award since its inception in 1996. MLS, as opposed to other American sports leagues like Major League Baseball, only designates a player as a rookie if the player has had no prior professional experience...
  
  
• Major League Lacrosse
  Major League Lacrosse
  Major League Lacrosse, or MLL, is a professional men's field lacrosse league that is made up of five teams in the United States and one team in Canada.- History :...
  
  
• Women's Professional Soccer

Award outside North America

Some rookie of the year awards exist outside North America, one example being the Elitserien Rookie of the Year

Elitserien Rookie of the Year

Elitserien Rookie of the Year is an annual award presented by Svenska Spel since the 1989–90 season.-Winners:...

 in Swedish ice hockey.

The North American sports development system delays athletes' entry into the top level of professional sports until the best of them are ready to make a major impact in their first season. The typical development path varies by sport:

• American football
  American football
  American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
  
   – Essentially all future professionals spend anywhere from three to five years in college
  College football
  College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
  
   programs, playing for a maximum of four years, before becoming eligible for professional play.
• Canadian football
  Canadian football
  Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
  
   – Similar to American football, with players drawn from both Canadian university programs
  CIS football
  Twenty-six universities across Canada compete in football under the auspices of Canadian Interuniversity Sport . The teams are divided into four conferences, drawing from the four regional associations of the CIS: Canada West Universities Athletic Association, Ontario University Athletics, Quebec...
  
   and U.S. college football.
• Basketball
  Basketball
  Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
  
   – Almost all American players now spend at least one year in college basketball
  College basketball
  College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
  
   because of recent changes in NBA rules
  Eligibility for the NBA Draft
  The NBA Draft, the annual event in which the 30 franchises in the National Basketball Association select new players for their teams, has distinctive eligibility rules, which have changed several times during the history of the league.-Early history:...
  
  . Although the NBA has its own minor league
  NBA Development League
  The NBA Development League, or NBA D-League, is the National Basketball Association's official minor league basketball organization. Known until summer 2005 as the National Basketball Development League , the NBA D-League started with eight teams in the fall of 2001...
  
  , virtually all players in that league come from the college ranks as well.
• Baseball
  Baseball
  Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
  
   – While college baseball
  College baseball
  College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...
  
   plays a role in player development, it is significantly less than that of the extensive, and fully professional, minor league baseball
  Minor league baseball
  Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
  
   system. Almost all players, whether or not they play college baseball, will spend several years in the minors before making a major-league team.
• Hockey
  Ice hockey
  Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
  
   – In Canada, a large majority of future NHL players develop as juniors in the professional Canadian Hockey League
  Canadian Hockey League
  The Canadian Hockey League is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canadian-based major junior ice hockey leagues for players 16 to 20 years of age. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League, and is composed of its three member leagues, the Western Hockey...
  
  . While some American players opt for the CHL (which has some American teams), most choose college hockey. In either case, only the very top prospects will graduate immediately from the CHL or NCAA to the NHL; most will spend some time in an NHL team's minor-league system.

However, in other parts of the world, it is usual for clubs to train their own players and introduce them into the first team gradually. Occasionally, young players who show extraordinary talent are introduced to the first team during their teens, with notable examples being Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney

Wayne Mark Rooney is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team...

 in association football and Ricky Rubio

Ricky Rubio

Ricard "Ricky" Rubio Vives is a Spanish professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association . Rubio became the youngest player ever to play in the Spanish ACB League on October 15, 2005, at age 14...

 in basketball.

To reflect this difference Young player of the year awards with an upper age limit usually somewhere in the early 20s, are more common elsewhere, e.g. soccer's FIFPro World Young Player of the Year.

However golf's European Tour has the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award, and Grand Prix motorcycle racing

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is the premier championship of motorcycle road racing currently divided into three distinct classes: 125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP. The 125cc class uses a two-stroke engine while Moto2 and MotoGP use four-stroke engines. In 2010 the 250cc two-stroke was replaced...

 also awards the top rookie of each class.

Auto Racing

• Champ Car Racing
• Indianapolis 500
• Indy Racing League
• NASCAR
  NASCAR Rookie of the Year
  The NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award is presented to the first-year driver that has the best season in a NASCAR season. Each of NASCAR's national and regional touring series selects a RotY winner each year....
  
  
• Grand Prix motorcycle racing
  Grand Prix motorcycle racing
  Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is the premier championship of motorcycle road racing currently divided into three distinct classes: 125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP. The 125cc class uses a two-stroke engine while Moto2 and MotoGP use four-stroke engines. In 2010 the 250cc two-stroke was replaced...
  
  

Baseball

• Major League Baseball
• MLB This Year in Baseball Awards
  This Year in Baseball Awards
  This Year in Baseball Awards, initiated by Major League Baseball in , are honors given annually to the most extraordinary baseball performances, players, and managers. Baseball fans select the nominees for and winners of the awards, via the online voting system on MLB.com, the official website of...
  
  
• Players Choice Awards
  Players Choice Award
  The Players Choice Awards are annual Major League Baseball awards, given by the Major League Baseball Players Association .The Players Choice Awards are given following a secret ballot by players. Four awards go to a player in each league, while two awards each go to one player in all of Major...
  
  
• Baseball America
  Baseball America Rookie of the Year
  The Baseball America Rookie of the Year is an annual award granted by Baseball America to the best rookie in the major leagues.-Awardees:-See also:*Baseball America #Baseball America All-Rookie Team*Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award...
  
  
• Baseball Prospectus Internet Baseball Awards
  Baseball Prospectus Internet Baseball Awards
  The annual Baseball Prospectus Internet Baseball Awards are based on fan voting. They started in 1991 with the Most Valuable Player, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year awards, in each of the two leagues in Major League Baseball. In 1998, an award for Manager of the Year was added in each...
  
  
• Sporting News
  The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award
  The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award was established in 1946 by The Sporting News .*In 1947-48, and again in 1950, a single award was given for all of Major League Baseball....
  
   (from 1963 through 2003, there were two categories: Rookie Pitcher of the Year and Rookie Player of the Year)
• USA Today
• Baseball America All-Rookie Team
• Topps All-Star Rookie Team
  Topps All-Star Rookie Teams
  The Topps All-Star Rookie Team, also known as the Topps ASR, is a set of baseball cards issued by Topps Company, Inc., every year to commemorate notable Major League Baseball rookie players.-History:...
  
  
• MLB Rookie of the Month Award
• Chinese Professional Baseball League
  CPBL Rookie of the Year Award
  The CPBL Rookie of the Year is awarded to the rookie who performs best in a particular Chinese Professional Baseball League season. The award has been given since 1993, the rookie qualification: No games played in Nippon Professional Baseball, or Minor League above AA.-List of winners:-See...
  
   (Chinese Taipei: Republic of China)
• Japan Professional Baseball
  Nippon Professional Baseball Rookie of the Year Award
  The Nippon Professional Baseball Rookie of the Year Award is given to one player in each league of Central League and Pacific League.-Central League:-Pacific League:-See also:*Nippon Professional Baseball#Awards*Baseball awards#Japan...
  
  
• Korea Baseball Organization

Basketball

• National Basketball Association
  NBA Rookie of the Year Award
  The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association award given since the 1952–53 NBA season, to the top rookie of the regular season. The winner receives the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy, which is named in honor of the Philadelphia Warriors head...
  
  
• National Basketball Association Development League
  NBA Development League Rookie of the Year Award
  The National Basketball Association Development League Rookie of the Year is an annual NBA Development League award given since the 2001–02 NBDL season...
  
  
• Women's National Basketball Association
  WNBA Rookie of the Year Award
  The Women's National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual Women's National Basketball Association award given since the 1998 WNBA season, to the top rookie of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of sportswriters throughout the United States, each of whom...
  
  
• National Basketball League (Australia)
  NBL (Australia) Rookie of the Year
  * 1983 Jamie Kennedy * 1984 Andrew Gaze * 1985 Mike McKay * 1986 Steve Lunardon * 1987 Greg Hubbard * 1988 Shane Heal...
  
  
• Philippine Basketball Association
  Philippine Basketball Association Rookie of the Year award
  -List of awardees:...
  
  

Golf

• Ladies European Tour
• LPGA Tour
• PGA Tour
• PGA European Tour

Hockey

• Canadian Hockey League
  CHL Rookie of the Year
  The CHL Rookie of the Year Award is given out annually to the top rookie in the Canadian Hockey League.-Winners:*2010–11 Nail Yakupov, Sarnia Sting*2009–10 Matt Puempel, Peterborough Petes*2008–09 Brett Connolly, Prince George Cougars...
  
  
• Central Hockey League
• International Hockey League
• National Hockey League
  Calder Memorial Trophy
  The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League." The Rookie of the Year trophy has been awarded 79 times since its creation for the 1936–37 NHL season...
  
  
• Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
  RDS Cup
  The RDS Cup is awarded annually by the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League to the overall Rookie of the Year. The Cup was known as the Molson Cup from 1991 to 1994, and the New Face Cup from 1994 to 1996, but is now sponsored by the French-language sports network Réseau des sports .-Winners:-External...
  
  

Soccer

• Major League Soccer
  MLS Rookie of the Year Award
  In the United States, Major League Soccer has handed out a Rookie of the Year Award since its inception in 1996. MLS, as opposed to other American sports leagues like Major League Baseball, only designates a player as a rookie if the player has had no prior professional experience...
  
  
• K-League
• Women's Professional Soccer